DEVELOPMENT OF THE

SELF
Chapter 10
Development of Self-
Awareness
Roots of self-awareness
•Begin to grow around 12 months
•Influenced by cultural upbringing

Research
•Rouge spot
– Average awareness begins 18 to 24 months
– https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M2I0kwSua44
•Complicated tasks requests
– Awareness of inabilities around 23-24 months
Just Think About That!

Infants begin to understand certain things about their

own and others' mental processes at quite an early age

Theory of mind
•Knowledge and beliefs how mind works and influences
behavior
•Child explanations used to explain how others
How does a theory of mind
develop?
Self-Concept: Thinking About
the Self
Preschooler self-concept
Not “accurate”
More optimistic
Overestimates abilities

More things for preschoolers to do!

Becoming their own person
Making own decisions
Shaping kind of person they are becoming
Cultural Influence

View of self culturally bound

– Collectivist Orientation: Asian
– Individualistic Orientation: Western

•View of self tied to family

•View of self individually directed

Self-Concept and Attitudes
Toward Gender, Race, and
Ethnicity
For most preschool-age children, racial awareness
comes relatively early
•Racial and ethnic identity begins to formalize

•Cultural meaning attached to differences comes by age 3 or

4 years

• Many preschoolers
– Differentiate races
– Mirror social attitudes
Race Dissonance
Ethnic Identity

Emerges somewhat later than racial identity

•Preschoolers who were bilingual, speaking both Spanish
and English, are more apt to be aware of ethnic identity
The School-age Child Asks:
“Who Am I”?
During middle childhood, children begin to view
themselves
•In more complex ways
•Less in terms of external physical attributes
•More in terms of psychological traits

Self-concept becomes divided into personal and

academic spheres
•Nonacademic includes physical appearance, peer relations,
and physical ability
•Academic
How Do School-Agers Change?

 Children realize they are good at some things and not

so good at others

 Self-concept and self-esteem continue to develop

Adolescent Identity: "Who Am I?"
and “Where Do I Belong in the
World?”
Adolescents
•Self consciousness takes center stage

•WHY?

– More like adults intellectually

– More like adults physically
Self Concept: “What Am I
Like?”
Erikson: Identity versus
Identity Confusion
Determining what is unique about self
•Strengths, weaknesses, and potential, future roles

•When suitable identity not found, socially unacceptable roles

adopted

•When appropriate identity begins, accurate sense of self

developed

•Psychological moratorium
– Experimentation period
• Probably no lasting, negative psychological affects
• Some benefits
Updating Erikson:
Marcia's Approach to Identity
Development
A Closer Look at Marcia's
Categories
Identity, Race and Ethnicity

Do you know how the following are related?

•Cultural assimilation model

•Pluralistic society model

•Bicultural identity
Adulthood

Social Clocks of Adulthood

•Definition

•Cultural influence

Check Helson's research on women's social clocks

Identity During Adulthood:
Role of Work
MODULE 10.2
EVALUATING THE SELF
Defining Self-Esteem
Self-Esteem: Developing a
Positive-or Negative-View of
Oneself
Although an awareness of self takes root in infancy, and
preschoolers are able to form a self-concept, is not until
early middle childhood that children begin to evaluate
themselves

Self-esteem during middle childhood

•Includes comparisons to others
•Becomes increasingly differentiated
•Is higher in some areas and lower in others
Adolescent Self Esteem:
How Do I Like Myself?
 Increasingly accurate in understanding self

 Gender

 SES
Gender Differences in Self
Esteem
Early adolescence
Girls' self esteem lower and more vulnerable than boys’

Girls'self esteem affected by social pressures (e.g.,

physical appearance; social success) and conflicting notions
about academic success

Boys' self esteem also vulnerable to gender related

pressures (e.g., confident, tough, fearless behavior)
SES and Self Esteem

 Adolescents of higher SES have higher self esteem

especially during middle and later years

 Access to resources may enhance social power

Race and Self-Esteem

Traditional research
•Prejudice is incorporated into minority adolescents' self-
concepts

Recent research
•African-American
adolescents have same levels of self-
esteem as Caucasians
•Strong racial identity is related to higher self-esteem levels
People use social comparison to themselves to
abilities, expertise, and opinions of others

Sometimes… children and adolescents make

downward social comparisons
Social Comparison in
Adolescence
 Peers and peer groups provide opportunity to compare
and evaluate opinions, abilities, and physical changes

 Parents are not able to provide accepted social

comparisons during this period
Self-esteem in Adulthood

• Establishing a career
• Relationships
Consequences of Self Esteem
Cycles of Self Esteem